1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protector which allows a wire harness to be wired in vehicles to pass therethrough to protect the wire harness and restrict the path of the wire harness, and more particularly to improvement in a closing structure of a lid for closing an upper opening of a main body of the protector after the wire harness is inserted through the main body of the protector made of a resin molded product.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a trough-shaped protector body, as shown in FIG. 6, in a case where a wire harness to be inserted therethrough needs to be bent, or in a case where a sufficient space into which a lock portion protrudes cannot be secured on the same outer surface, the trough-shaped main body 2 is bent along the longitudinal direction thereof. Plural lids 3 to 5 are coupled through hinges to one side of the main body 2 between which bent portions of the main body 2 are provided. An operator closes the respective lids 3 to 5 in a state where the wire harness is inserted through the main body 2, and locks lock portions 3a to 5a in locked portions 2a to fix them.
However, while the operator performs an operation of closing the plural lids 3 to 5, all the lids 3 to 5 are coupled through the hinges to one side of the main body 2. Therefore, for example, the operator should close the other lids 4 and 5 provided on the same side one after another while the operator closes the lid 3 with his/her right hand, which leads to a poor workability.
As shown in FIG. 7, a protector 6, which is disclosed in JP-U-Hei.4-134117, is constructed in such a manner that two lids 8 and 9 are provided in a trough-shaped main body 7 to face each other. In other words, for example, the operator closes one lid 8 using his/her right hand and at the same time closes the other lid 9 with his/her left hand, in a state where wire harness W is inserted through the main body 7, which improves the workability.
On the other hand, the lid 9 of the two lids 8 and 9 needs to be closed after the lid 8 having an extension portion 8a is closed. However, even when the operator follows the wrong procedure, the thin extension portion 8a is merely placed on the upper side of the lid 9. As a result, there is a fear that that the operator would not be aware of this misassembling.
Therefore, in a protector 10 disclosed in JP-U-Hei.4-134116, as shown in FIG. 8, an end portion 12a of a lid 12 provided on one side of a trough-shaped main body 11 overlaps an end portion 13a of a lid 13 provided on the other side of the main body 11. A protrusion 12b having a locking hole 12c protrudes therefrom in the inner side of the one end portion 12a. A pin 13b protrudes from the inner side of the other end portion 13a. 
In other words, the protector is constructed in such a manner that when the lid 13 is closed after the lid 12 is closed to make lock coupling, the pin 13b of the lid 13 is correctly inserted through and locked in the locking hole 12c of the lid 12. Therefore, if the operator follows the wrong procedure, the protrusion 12b of the lid 12 interferes with the upper side of the lid 13 previously closed and cannot be closed. As a result, the misassembling is recognized.
However, in the case of the protector 8 shown in FIG. 8, because the protrusion 12b and pin 13b protrude toward the inner side of the main body 11 in procedure to recognize the misassembling, the space used for inserting the wire harness through the main body 11 is narrowed. As a result, there arises a problem in that the size of the whole protector 10 increases.
Moreover, because the lid 13 is closed in a state in which it has rotated about a hinge as a fulcrum, the path of the pin 13b at this instance may be inclined with respect to the axis of the locking hole 12c of the cover 12. Thus, the pin 13b is not inserted well into the locking hole 12b of the lid 12 previously closed, which leads to a poor workability.
Moreover, because both the protrusion 12b having the locking hole 12c and the pin 13b are provided in procedure to prevent the misassembling, it is necessary to take into consideration of those dimension and positional relation therebetween at a time of designing the protector, which leads to a complicated design work.